Greek shipowners are set to be levied for the first time as part of the latest
make-or-break austerity Bill narrowly passed by politicians in Athens on
Wednesday night.

The country’s best-known tycoons, who remarkably have retained their fiscal privileges throughout the crisis, will be forced to “contribute” at least €140m (£112m) to the stricken national coffers after the Bill was passed by only two votes. Following an evening of high drama, which saw seven politicians expelled from the ruling coalition, the Bill received 153 “Yes” votes, only two more than the 151 required.

Antonis Samaras, the Greek prime minister, pleaded with politicians to approve the €13.5bn package of tax rises, public sector and pension cuts, needed to secure the next €31bn tranche of international aid and avoid national bankruptcy.

The progress of the Bill was thrown into chaos amid resignations of parliamentary staff.

Evangelos Venizelos, leader of the Pasok party, ousted six members of his party for voting against the Bill while Mr Samaras also expelled one lawmaker from his New Democracy party.

There was another shock mass resignation at Greece’s central bank as workers realised their pay would be cut by a third as part of the measures – the fourth round of cuts in three years.

Forty employees announced their retirement from the bank after caps of €5,000 a month were announced on monthly salaries across the public sector.

Salary and pension cuts account for €5.8bn out of €9.4bn proposed spending cuts for the 2013 budget. Other measures include raising the retirement age to 67 and scrapping Christmas payments for pensioners.

Athens was rocked by violent protests. Police struggled to contain as many as 80,000 protesters in a city already paralysed by a 48-hour general strike that brought the closure of hospitals, banks, government services and the transport network. Riot police resorted to tear gas, stun grenades and water cannons to calm protesters trying to break into the assembly.

Jean Claude Juncker, chairman of the Eurogroup, said earlier this week: “Our Greek friends have no options or choice, they have to do it.”

The inclusion of the shipowners levy is a radical move on Greece’s business elite. The shipowners comprise about 900 families that control the biggest fleet in the world of about 15pc of the world’s merchant freight.

After many years of being based abroad, mostly in London, the advent of the euro drew many back, on the proviso that they would not be taxed.

An estimated €175bn of tax-free income is thought to have been brought back to Greece over the past decade.

The shipowners, who have avoided austerity measures by threatening to move offshore, reportedly agreed to a “voluntary” levy outlined in the austerity Bill. But the word was removed by finance minister Yannis Stournaras at the last minute.

The clause says the Greek government and shipowners will agree “the means of payment and the sum that the community will contribute for the support of the national economy, the minimum amount being €140m”.